A Magician in Gaea: Rise of the Phoenix
by TheNotoriousNovelist
Summary: New sequel to A Magician in Gaea (read that first). AU: After 3 years, Zatanna's working to earn the money for nursing school. While at one of her part-time jobs, a fire breaks out and returns her to Gaea where she's reunited with her old friends. With her increasing magic powers and the strange stone that started the fire, Zatanna has to unravel the new Mistress of Magic prophecy.
1. Prologue: The Fire in One's Heart

** Sequel to A Magician in Gaea. That was based off of Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea and this is based off of Fairy Tail the Movie: Priestess of the Phoenix (just for inspiration).**

**I've kept Tim's backstory of being an ex-slave. Also, Zachary Zatara won't be making an appearance.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, Escaflowne or Fairy Tail (if only!)**

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><p><span>A Magician in Gaea: Rise of the Phoenix<span>

Prologue:

The Fire in One's Heart

A woman in a beautiful red-and-gold sari gracefully danced around the pavilion, a golden bird-like mask on her face. Around her wrists and ankles were golden bands and she was barefoot. The dancer stepped in time to the pounding of drums and a set of pipes joined. A bombfire burned behind her and the villagers observed her beautiful dancing, her long black hair flowing around her. As the dancer continued, the bombfire grew and spread out as a podium rose up from the ground beneath it.

The dancer was nearing the end of the routine and raised her arms with her hands crossed like a bird. As she was about to finish her dance by bowing to the audience, an arrow was shot into her thigh. Within seconds, the village was under siege by invaders from the South. The dancer looked at the attacker's target as it rose through the bombfire and knew she couldn't let such savages get their hands on such power.

With gritted teeth, the dancer broke the arrow in half, leaving in the stone arrow head to help block the bleeding. She crawled across the pavilion and pulled herself to her feet using a podium. Within it was a stone that was painted black and white to resemble Yin and Yang. The stone was broken in two but floated within a ring on the top of the podium. Biting back her fears, the dancer took hold of the Yin half before dashing away from the battle.

Stumbling along the path up the mountain her village was built at the foot of, the dancer's leg was bleeding extensively and blood drops left a trail to her. She had gone from a run to a limp and finally collapsed. The dancer looked at the Yin Stone and removed the mask from her face but her face was obscured by her hair.

"I curse this stone to fall through time and space until someone worthy of the power it unlocks is found..." she whispered at it.

Losing strength and hearing the invaders heading her way, the dancer rested her head and let the stone roll out of her hand. The Yin Stone rolled away from her and over the edge of the mountain path.

It fell... and as it fell, it began to disappear into celestial dust until it disappeared into the time-stream.


	2. Chapter 1: History Repeats Itself

A Magician in Gaea: Rise of the Phoenix

Chapter 1:

History Repeats Itself

To think it had been 3 years since her trip to Gaea. Had it not been for the presence of her necklace or her spell book, she probably would have thought it had been a dream. Now, at age 19, Zatanna Zatara was saving up money for nursing school by working multiple part-time jobs like working in her father's magic shop, organizing files in a law office and as a tour guide in the natural history museum. Currently, she was on break and was sitting in front of the Egypt exhibit with her laptop. Despite her aim being to attend nursing school, Zatanna was taking some college courses on the side and was working on a history paper about the ancient Egyptians. She looked smart in her buttoned-up dark green blazer, black miniskirt, grey tights and black high heels. She had her glasses on (she only needed them for reading and writing) and the only noise was the tapping of her keyboard.

"Zatanna!" came Bette's demanding voice.

Out of all the professions in all of New York City, Bette just had to work at the same museum she did. Zatanna saved her document and closed her laptop. She took her glasses off and put them in her case to look at her.

"I need you to stay late and check the contents of the crates we just got from China," Bette ordered, checking her clipboard.

Zatanna inwardly groaned but politely smiled and agreed to the extra work (at least she was getting overtime).

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><p><em>...That night...<em>

Zatanna walked beside the crates with a clipboard and pen. She stopped at Box #1 and pushed the loose lid open. Inside was a ming vase like her clipboard said there should be and she checked it off. There were 157 boxes and some had more than one artifact inside... it was going to take a while.

As Zatanna checked off Box #24, her Gaean necklace began to glow and hovered up and out of her blouse. The usually purple gem had changed to red and glowing like a flame. She looked at it curiously until it tugged her in the direction of another crate. Zatanna tried to fight it but it pulled her in that direction, causing her to drop her clipboard and pen.

"What the heck? Since when was this thing self-aware?" she asked herself.

The gem kept tugging away from her until the chain broke. Zatanna fell back and watched it shoot behind a pile of crates.

"Hold up! Where're you going?" she called to it "And... I'm talking to my jewellery, yep, I'm going crazy," and she got to her feet.

Zatanna threaded herself through the crates to the very back and got on her knees before the small crate her dragon heart gem had landed. She picked it off the lid and inspected the chain to see if it could be fixed. Deciding to just create a new chain for her dragon heart gem, Zatanna whispered a spell and it changed so the gem was kept loose in a small twisted cage just the right size for it. She redid the clasp behind her neck only for her necklace to tug in the direction of the crate it had landed on.

"What's in here that's so important?" Zatanna asked "And I'm talking to my necklace again..."

The small crate was still sealed and required a crowbar to open. Seeing how her necklace was glowing in the box's presence, she decided to use a spell to open it.

"Nepo siht xob,"

A pinkish mist came from her hands and encased the lid. The nails slid out within the mist and the crate lid hovered up. Zatanna pushed the hovering lid and nails aside to see what was inside the crate.

"Empty. Well, this was a waste of a good opening spell," she said "Esolc siht xob,"

The crate lid and nails hovered up and returned to the correct position. The lid landed on the crate and the four nails slid back into place as if it hadn't been opened. Zatanna got to her feet and weaved back out of the crates. She reached down to pick up the clipboard and pen again and was about to get back to checking the crates when she turned around. She looked up to look for Box #25 when she smelled smoke.

"Oh, what now?" she groaned and walked over to the stack of crates again "No fire so what's that smell?"

Just then, the small crate began shaking. Zatanna reached down and picked it up. She began walking across the room to get a good look at it when it began heating up. She dropped it and the lid cracked open. Within the box came a bright light and Zatanna got on her knees to look at it.

"What the heck is happening?" she asked.

She looked around to see if anyone else was just around the corner before ripping the box open herself. Some kind of shockwave came from it and caused a blackout in the room. The bright light glowed from within the box and temporarily blinded her. Zatanna covered her eyes and sat back as the light seemed to get brighter. Then it hit her, it wasn't light. It was fire!

She scrambled back from the streams of fire as they reached out of the box lid. Zatanna got to her feet and hopped on top of a large crate. All of the streams of fire immediately turned and began going up the side of the crate she had jumped on. With a shriek, she stood up and jumped to another box. Zatanna watched as the fire turned yet again and headed in her direction.

"Niar sduolc!" she exclaimed.

Dark clouds formed across the ceiling of the room and rain began falling. The fire went up the wall and across the ceiling. Zatanna watched as it set her spell ablaze. She screamed when fire began raining down and she climbed off the crate and hid behind it. All of this fire... it was supernatural! There was no way it could coincidentally follow her and set her spell on fire!

_"I curse this stone..."_ said a voice, echoing around the room.

Zatanna looked up with tears running down her face.

_"...to fall through time and space..."_ continued the voice.

It was a woman's voice and it sounded weak yet serious.

_"...until someone worthy of the power it unlocks..."_ it went on.

The fire began reaching out to Zatanna but there was nowhere to go.

_"...is found," _the voice finished.

Zatanna could only watch as the fire rose up and consumed the entire room, leaving only her unharmed. She looked up at the fire and the image of a bird-like creature appeared within the flames. She stared up at it and the sense of fear within her subsided. The bird of fire turned to her and flew directly at her. Zatanna looked up at it and closed her eyes.


	3. Chapter 2: Return to Gaea

A Magician in Gaea: Rise of the Phoenix

Chapter 2:

Return to Gaea

** Gotham, Gaea:**

The meteor shower was beautiful that midsummer night and the best place to go to see them was Gotham. Over those 3 years, a large compound was built and was being extended to have a small group of houses near it and fields were being plowed for farming. Slowly but surely, Gotham was being rebuilt. Dick walked out onto the balcony of his rooms. He looked up at the meteor shower and smiled as he rested against the balcony wall. The only thing that could have made that moment better was if Zatanna was with him to enjoy it.

_"Dick..."_

The Dragon King looked around at the sound of his name. No one was there... he must have been hearing things.

_"Dick!"_

That was _not_ his mind playing a trick on him.

_"This way, Dick! Come find me! I'm stinkin' lost out here..."_

Dick wasn't sure what it was but if he followed it, he was sure he'd find out. So, he put his sword on his belt and headed out into the forest. The night was unusually lit up by the meteor shower and he listened as the voice continued to call out to him.

_"Di-ick," _it whined _"I think I twisted my ankle so, you know, no hurry," _it added, sarcastically.

It was going from his mind and into the air as he neared its source. It also began gaining some characteristics such as it began sounding more feminine and its tone could be conveyed. It was quite sarcastic with some kind of accent slipping off the end of its sentences.

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><p>Zatanna sat in the gravel pit she had appeared in, holding her twisted ankle. She looked about, biting her lip, and continued to send out thoughts to Dick so he'd come find her. She wasn't 100% sure how she got there but she was sure she was in Gotham. Zatanna looked up at the meteor shower going on up above and wondered why they couldn't be seen from Earth. Even if Gaea was hidden, they were still in the same universe so how come?<p>

"Dick, I'm getting cold so could you hurry it up?" Zatanna said, aloud, and sent it to her beloved.

There was a pause then the sound of cracking rocks. She looked to see what it was but there was nothing there. Suddenly, every sound caused her to jump and a shiver ran up her spine.

"Dick!" she shouted in fear "Dick, help!"

Zatanna looked around in fear when there was another sound of cracking rocks. She looked in front of her and saw a footprint in the rock. The rock cracked again to leave another footprint and they were heading towards her. Zatanna tried to move but found herself unable to... she was completely paralyzed with fear.

"Dick... help..." she whimpered.

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><p>Dick heared the desperate pleas and now knew whose voice it was... Zatanna's. He came to the old gravel pits and dodged behind a tree. Standing over Zatanna was a beast they called Nightmares because they brought out one's fear even if there was nothing to fear. Nightmares looked like large cats with thick fur around the neck and jelly-like tentacles reached out from the neck fur. This Nightmare's tentacles were wrapped around Zatanna, jabbing into her to syphon her fear.<p>

Dick closed his eyes and focused on his psychic powers to tell where things were. One good thing was that Nightmares were easy to kill. He flew into the air and dropped down, bringing his sword through the beast's neck. It died but the tentacles remained jabbed into Zatanna, except it now drained life essence.

"Zatanna!" Dick exclaimed and he dashed to her.

He pulled the tentacles out of her (luckily they were barely in her with some not even have broken the skin) and held her in his arms. She was completely knocked out and her ankle was definitely twisted.

"D-Dick... help... me... D-Dick... h-help... m-me..." Zatanna continued to mutter as he lifted her.

"You're going to need medical attention," Dick said and he got to his feet with her in his arms.

He spread his wings and flew up into the air.


End file.
